Johnson, 51, isn’t your typical park ranger. Born and raised in Detroit, he visited Yellowstone as a youth and says it was a life-changing experience. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in English literature and won a Major Hopwood Award in poetry. He recently published “Gloryland,” a novel about the Buffalo Soldiers — black Army troops from the Presidio assigned to patrol the Yosemite backcountry in the early 1900s.

Johnson, a 22-year veteran of the National Park Service, speaks with eloquence about his “kinship with the land.”

“I can’t have a sedate conversation about the national parks,” he says. “I get too excited. My molecules get all charged up.”

I’m watching him on Ken Burns’ newest mega-documentary on PBS, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, and I love his infectious enthusiasm. I know something of how he feels, having seen Muir Woods myself. I call the trees “the old ones.” Somehow, I just didn’t want to leave it. You can’t find that kind of peace in the city. A peace that takes you out of yourself and connects you to the wide world.

And I’ve always wanted to see the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Yosemite, Devil’s Tower, and some of the rest. Yes, he may seem goofy and a little geeky, like an older, but more dimensional Urkel, but what a change from rappers, ministers, and businessmen, and murders, sex scandals and health care debates. A welcome change.

I was a naturalist for the US Forest Service, and had the good fortune to see Mr. Johnson do a living history presentation as a Buffalo Soldier protecting Yosemite. He is a man of great talent, able to portray through his eloquence and acting skill, how it felt to be one of the soldiers who protected Yosemite. We are a lucky nation to have someone with his skill and obvious passion as a Park Ranger sharing his enthusiasm and knowledge with the public. I hope to have the opportunity to see him again in person. He is a great choice to represent the Park Service for this program.

How do you keep a people down? You ‘never’ let them ‘know’ their history.

The 7th Cavalry got their butts in a sling again after the Little Big Horn Massacre, fourteen years later, the day after the Wounded Knee Massacre. If it wasn’t for the 9th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers, there would of been a second massacre of the 7th Cavalry. Read, and visit site/great history, rescueatpineridge.com

Senior NHS figures warn Boris Johnson to plan for second wave; infection rate could be increasing in some areas, including north-west EnglandPrime minister told to dump rhetoric and plan for new Covid waveSenior clinicians fear UK has no plan for second waveBlack Lives Matter protests risk spreading Covid-19, says HancockCovid-19 in the Commons: ‘How can you […]

Scientists say injection of cloned antibodies could help treat people already infected, while vaccine development continuesCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageScientists working on coronavirus treatments may be close to a breakthrough on an antibody treatment that could save the lives of people who become infected, it has been reporte […]

Toll could hit 34,000 among country’s most vulnerable residents by end of June, estimates expert study Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageCare home residents are on course to make up more than half the deaths caused directly or indirectly by the coronavirus crisis in England, according to a new analysis.The study warns that the death […]

Father of six-year-old who vanished in Portugal in 1996 hopes to finally learn what happened to his sonThe father of a six-year-old German boy who disappeared on holiday in Portugal nearly 24 years ago says the recent dramatic developments in the Madeleine McCann case have given him hope he will finally learn what happened to his son.Andreas Hasee said a Ger […]

Leaked letter instructs ministers to have ‘no specific policy’ on the issueDowning Street has been accused of reopening the door to imports of chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef, after a leaked memo instructed ministers to have “no specific policy” on animal welfare in US trade talks.The letter from No 10 states that the ministerial mandate for the […]

After ‘appalling scenes’ in US and Hong Kong, the shadow foreign secretary attacks UK policy for putting growth and trade ahead of human rightsBritain is “absenting itself from the world stage” by refusing to show leadership over Hong Kong residents, confront China or condemn President Trump over his handling of the fallout from George Floyd’s killing, the s […]

With many leaders backing Black Lives Matter over George Floyd’s death, a former official leads criticism of ‘perilously archaic’ institution A former senior Church of England official has criticised the institution’s record on racism, while many of its bishops are publicly backing the Black Lives Matter movement. The Rev Arun Arora, a vicar in Durham and fo […]